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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE 



HENRY M. PHILLIPS 



READ BEFORE 



THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, 



June 20th, 1884. 



BY 

RICHARD VAUX. 



PHILADELPHIA 
1885. 



1:141b 
.T5V3 



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Vaux.l i^ [Dec. 19, 

Biograpliical Notice of Henry M. Phillips. By RicJiard Vaux. 
{Read before the American Philosophical Society, Dec. 19, ISS4..) 

It rarely happens that a marked or lasting impression is made on the 
public mind by merely professional men. Devoted to the consideration of 
principles of paramount importance intrinsically and relatively, they are 
only applied in their direct operation within a limited circle. It is therefore 
those larger spheres, the arenas in which achievements are of signal im- 
portance, both to direct thought and excite actions that are not usually 
accessible to those trained in special studies, and who devote their powers 
to circumscribed mental efforts. 

The legal training, while it is the best foundation for the highest suc- 
cesses in public life, and especially qualifies for a participation in the re- 
sponsible duties of public aftliirs, if exclusively absorbed in professional 
duties fails to imprint itself on the pages of history. The brush, the pencil, 
and the chisel, attaining immortality, in some sort deal with universal 
law, formulated in objective teachings. 

The lawyer reaches the highest professional eminence when he unites gen- 
eral knowledge with skill, learning, and the careful study of the principles 
of jurisprudence. Assiduous and unremitted application is the absolute 
essential for such triumphs. One finds in the history of statesmen, who 
have gained personal and public renown, and who rank with the great men 
whose posthumous fame lives in later generations, that their first prepa- 
rations were in the study of the Pandects, the Institutes, the Civil and 
the Common law. Yet these names are unfrequent. The sword and 
the sceptre have cut into the tables of historic stone, the immortality of 
these rulers of peoples, and great leaders of victorious armies. The forum 
is the arena of peaceful antagonisms and contests in which the weapons 
are didactic skill, logic, reason and oratory. 

Victories thus and there won are not declared by the display of osten- 
tatious acclaim. In the quiet assertions of the deliberate and calm do- 
minion of legal right, and ascertained justice, the supremacy of law is 
honored. 

These reflections are eminently appropriate as preparatory to the notice 
of the death of one of our members, who, as a lawyer and a citizen held 
a pronounced position at the Bar of Philadelphia, and in public estimation. 

Henry M. Phillips was born in Philadelphia, on the 30th of June, in the 
year 1811. Without large wealth, and its surroundings and infiuence, the 
lad early evinced a zeal and devotion to the shaping of his own career, 
which attracted even more than passing comment. He was a pupil in the 
most prominent school of that day, the "High School of the Franklin 
Institute." His quickness in acquiring knowledge was the leading trait 
in his academic life. There was apparently no trouble in his mastery of 
the subjects taught. It may be said that he ran through his course, until 
at its close he was with the foremost among his fellows. 



1834.] *3 [Vaux. 

There was no unanimity in the discussion of the pursuit best suited to the 
youth who had so early finished his school life. His fatlier, a lawyer of 
remarkable prominence, and the acknowledged leader of the criminal bar 
of that day, did not wish his son Henry to study law. There were three 
sons, and it was thought but one should adopt the vocation of the father. 
But Henry, depending on his own ability as he measured it, was not satis- 
fied till he became a student in his father's office. Before he had attained 
his majority, only twenty years of age, he was admitted to practice at 
the Philadelphia Bar. 

It would be difficult now even to guess at the feelings of this young 
man who was thus placed in at least a trying and not very promising 
position, at his age, at that day, as an attorney at law in Philadelphia. 

The Bar of Philadelphia was then admittedly the most remarkable of 
the law associations on this continent. It had become a popular adage, 
that no unsolvable problem would puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer. The 
Bar was lustrous with the most brilliant minds, and the roll of its mem- 
bers embraced not a few of the great jurists of that time. Masterly ability, 
profund learning, a high order of forensic eloquence, marked the golden 
age in its history. ' 

Young Phillips at once began his legal career. The better to learn, he 
accepted the position of clerk in the Court of Common Pleas, presided 
over by a judge who has left a record of the most thorough mastery of 
jurisprudence, and wonderful ability. Judge King's name has few, if any, 
successful rivals in the profound respect of the bench and the Bar. 

Under such daily tuition Mr. Phillips absorbed the principles of the law, 
and learned the truest method of their application. He became both an 
adept in practice, and the proper relations of precedents to cases. He was 
thus equipped for the contest before courts and juries. Very soon he 
held an assured place, and at the criminal bar and in civil courts he 
secured a substantial standing. 

For nearly thirty years he advanced with progressive steps, till he 
reached the level of the leaders in his profession. The opinion of his 
brethren, as expressed at a meeting of the Bar, held October last, to honor 
his memory, is probably the best, if not the truest estimate of his pro- 
fessional and personal character that can be given. 

This minute was imanimously adopted at that meeting : 

"The death of Henry M. Phillips impels a sincere manifestation of the 
unfeigned sorrow of the Bar of Philadelphia. He was a man of rare qual- 
ities ; a lawyer of striking and marked character ; a friend of tried and 
true earnestness ; a citizen of untiring devotion to all the duties imposed ; 
faithful to every trust ; of large and liberal views ; he rose to a high rank 
in his profession as the associate of the great lawyers of this Bar, and was 
rightfully recognized as one of the foremost citizens of Philadelphia. 

"The quickness and activity of his mind, his wonderful faculty of seiz- 
ing, as by intuition, the strong points of his case, the force with which he 
elucidated them, the capacity for absorbing the principles of law which 
reported cases enunciated, his most singularly retentive memory, gave to 



Vaux.] < 4 [j5e(._ ]<)^ 

liis professional career a distinction which was remarkable. His kindness 
to the young lawyers wlio asked his advice and legal aid was proverbial. 

"Retiring from active practice his last years were devoted to public 
duties of a high order, and very much of his time was clieerfully given to 
advising and counseling in matters of individual interest and public im- 
portance. Such a character is worthy of memorial. Let it be inscribed 
on the scroll dedicated to our departed brethren of this Bar. 

The last public occasion when Mr. Phillips took his recognized place as 
a member of the Bar was presiding at the Bar dinner given December 20, 
1882, to the late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of this State, Judge 
Sharswood, on his retiring from that exalted position. It was a memor- 
able occa'^ion. The Chief Justice was greeted by the profession he had 
honored, as a great jurist, whose professional, official, and private life 
ranked him among the ablest of the judiciary of our Commonwealth. Mr. 
Phillips thus with Judge Sharswood reached the end of their lives under 
the most appropriate surroundings. They both died in no long time there- 
after. 

Having acquired both reputation and an assured income, Mr. Phillips 
gave special attention to politics. Until both had been attained, he knew 
the unwisdom of intermitting attention to his vocation. Success at 
the Bar, success in any profession or business, is only secured by constant 
and unremitted application. A divided duty is half performed, or disre- 
garded. This Mr. Phillips knew, and he patiently waited until he 
felt he could devote some time to other affairs. In 1856 he was elected 
from the 4th district of Pennsylvania to the Federal House of Represen- 
tatives. He took his seat in the 35th Congress on December 7, 1857. 

He was appointed on the Standing Committee on Elections, and had for 
colleagues the ablest lawyers in the House, John W. Stevenson, of Ken- 
tucky, L. Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi, Israel Washburn, of Maine, James 
Wilson, of Indiana, and others. 

Mr. Stevenson was afterwards elected Governor of Kentucky and 
United States Senator from tliat State, and Mr. Lamar is now in the 
Federal Senate from his State. 

Mr. Phillips was also placed on the Special Committee on the Pacific Rail- 
road, with John S. Phelps as chairman, and among his associates were 
Erastus Corning, W. S. Groesbeck, John A. Gilmer, O. R. Singleton, J. 
F. Farnsworth, &c. 

It was thus that at the opening of his public life Mr. Phillips' repu- 
tation placed him among the foremost of our public men of that period. 

His election to Congress was his first popular endorsement through the 
ballot box. His first step in the public arena was from the Bar to the 
Federal Legislature. Whatever of qualification he possessed for this 
trust was gained by that remarkable power of observation and absorption 
which emphasized his life. Instinctively he knew, or if he had to learn, 
he was preternaturally proficient. The method by which he acquired in- 
formation and knowledge, attained what he sought, or what was required 
or necessary, is not easily explained. It was more an inherent faculty, 



1884.] *5 LVaux. 

than a systematic process. It may be called a mental idiosyncrasy. 
However ill this may be as an explanation, yet it is the better description 
of Mr. Phillips peculiar mental temperament. 

That Mr. Phillips devoted little, if any, time to general reading while 
actively engaged in his profession is known of all his friends. He wrote 
nothing on public questions, and indeed, made no contributions on cur- 
rent or special literary subjects. Yet his speeches in Congress were mas- 
terly and thorough on the questions he discussed. 

On the 12th of June, 1858, he addressed the House of Representatives 
on "The expenditures and revenues'' of the country, in which he dis- 
covered both knowledge and power, and made a mark as a debater. 
He met on this occasion in debate Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, then establish- 
ing his reputation. If lie had not gained the ear of the House and im- 
pressed himself on the judgment of his colleagues as worthy of their 
consideration, a failure would not have been wondered at under the con- 
comitant circumstances. That he did make a marked impression is 
known. 

On the 9th of March, 1858, Mr. Phillips made a very able speech on 
" The admission of Kansas as a State under the Lecompton constitution." 
On this subject Mr. Phillips was in the line of his studies, and he mani- 
fested his fixmiliarity with the questions involved in their discussion. That 
he made a deep impression on the House is shown by the record of the 
proceedings. He was very forcible, and ably presented his views, so 
much so, that Mr. Grow, Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Kunkel, of Pennsyl- 
vania, and Mr. Stanton, of Ohio, interrupted him to ask for information, 
and to support their understanding of facts, or to question the basis of his 
argument. Mr. Phillips was fortunate on all these occasions in strongly 
justifying his statements, or strengthening his positions. This speech, 
and the incidents attending its delivery, elevated its author to a position 
formidable in debate, and forcible in argument. 

That Mr. Phillips had the fiiculty of acquiring knowledge by absorbing 
it as if without consciousness, can be affirmed from reading the two ad- 
dresses to which reference is made. Entering Congress without any pre- 
paratory study of the business that was likely to engage the attention of 
the Federal Legislature ; with no experience in public life ; entrusted for 
the first time with the duties and responsibilities of a representative of the 
people ; new in all its relations to his constituency and the country ; sur- 
rounded by able and experienced statesmen ; brought to the consideration 
of principles of the highest moment to the welfare of the United States, Mr. 
Phillips was able to discuss them with a self-reliance imperturbable, 
and a confidence in his own powers. 

The two speeches to which notice has been called are selected out of his 
legislative record because the subjects are so wholly disconnected with 
each other, as more distinctly to demonstrate the view^ here taken of 
Mr. Phillips' character. 

It was a remark often made by John W. Stevenson, his colleague in 



Vaux.] 7b [Dec. 19, 

Congress from Kentucky, afterwards governor of that State, and its repre- 
sentative in the Senate of the United States, one of the ablest and purest 
of the public men of this country, that Mr. Phillips was a very successful 
member of the House, and both in committee and on the floor was equal 
to any emergency. Governor Stevenson regarded Mr. Phillips' service 
on the Committee of Ways and Means in the 2d session of the 35th 
Congress, as proof of this estimate of his public character. 

The proceedings of the House of Representatives for the sessions of the 
35th Congress, as published in the Congressional Globe, prove the earnest, 
active part taken by Mr. Phillips on public questions, his aptitude in de- 
bate, his familiarity with and incisive mode of dealing with questions of 
parliamentary law. He was laborious in his attention to the business de- 
volved on the Committee of Ways and Means, and faithfully served it by 
his watchfulness and promptitude, his comprehension of the questions 
under debate, and the facility with which he made his views understood 
by his colleagues in Congress. 

The 35th Congress was remarkable not only for the character and 
attainments of so manj^ of its members, but also from the questions with 
which it had to deal. That Mr. Phillips should have gained and main- 
tained a prominent position during both its sessions is as likely as any 
other evidence to assure his deserved reputation. 

On his retirement from Congress Mr. Phillips returned to his professional 
duties. Fqr several years he was devoted to them, but from time to time 
he was induced to take an interest in matters of general public concern, 
and give his knowledge and experience for the benefit of his native city. 
He felt he ought to contribute his share to the welfare of Philadelphia, and 
from 1865 to 1875 he was engrossed in such service. Thus withdrawn from 
active practice, he became the counselor as he ceased to be the counsel. 
Though his advice and sound judgment were always sought, yet he con- 
fined himself to consulting and advising on subjects which were to be 
affected by the enactment of laws, as well as their determination and 
adjudication. 

The city .having been made the trustee under very many testamen- 
tary devises for objects of benevolence, and most especially by the will 
of Stephen Girard for purposes of the highest importance to the people of 
Philadelphia, especially, it was deemed advisable to unite the admin- 
istration of these trusts in one body charged with this duty. 

Mr. Phillips took great interest in this proposition. It was consummated, 
and on September 2d, 1869, he was appointed a member of this new 
organization, " The Board of City Trusts." Subsequently he was elected 
its vice-president, and then its president. His faithful and useful services 
in that board were fully recognized. 

On the 16th of October, 1874, Mr. Phillips was selected as one of the 
directors of "The Pennsylvania Company for Insurance on Lives and 
Granting Annuities." His knowledge and experience qualified him for 
the discharge of the responsible duties of this position. 



1881.] * « [Vaux. 

At the election of directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in 
March, 1874, Mr. Phillips was elected a director. He devoted very much 
of his time and attention to the responsibilities involved, with their ramified 
interests and urgent demands on his best judgment. 

Desiring to aid in forming a correct taste, and encourage the love of 
music in Philadelphia, he was chosen as a director of the Philadelphia 
Academy of Music in 1870. His active exertions in the Board resulted in 
his election as its president in 1872. He resigned, however, from both in 
1884. 

The Court of Common Pleas on the 13th of May, 1867, appointed Mr. 
Phillips a member of the Board of Park Commissioners, and on March 13^ 
1881, he was elected president. He took a liberal view of the proper ad- 
ministration of this great public benefaction. His service on that board 
was earnest and important. 

On the 4th day of December, 1862, Mr. Piiillips was chosen a trustee of 
the Jefferson Medical College to fill the vacancy on ihe death of his 
brother, I. Altamont Phillips, likewise a member of the Philadelphia Bar. 
This medical school, with all its adjuncts for teaching and training in the 
curative art, with its world-wide reputation for the highest capacities 
in its faculty, and the substantial attainments of its graduates, called from 
Mr. Phillips anxious and continuous attention. Well did he devote it, not 
only with conspicuous assiduity, but with intelligent comprehension of its 
demands. 

Tlie Legislature of Pennsylvania passed, April, 1870, the law creating 
a commission entrusted with the erection of municipal buildings for Phil- 
adelphia. Mr. Phillips' advice was sought and his efforts enlisted to 
Becure the legislation required. He was made a member of the commis- 
sion by this act, approved by the Governor in August, 1870. On the 19th 
of October, 1871, he resigned. 

At a meeting of our honored and venerable society held January 20, 
1871, Mr. Phillips was elected a member. 

In December, 1858, "The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons 
of Pennsylvania" elected Mr. Phillips Grand Master. In this distin- 
guished station he made his administration creditable to himself and 
conservative of the interests of the craft. The duties devolved upon the 
Grand Master were in harmony with his character and acquirements, and 
the record of his term of service attests his fidelity to the trust, and sincere 
testimony of the appreciation of his brethren. 

This is a brief narrative of Mr. Phillips' connection with some of the 
public institutions of Philadelphia, and it is obvious that such diversified 
duties as each placed on him, taxed his energies and absorbed his time. 

So active a life was not likely to afibrd opportunities for the belles- 
lettres, cultivation of tastes, or the preparation of contributions to general 
literature. It is somewhat remarkable that no essay, treatise or paper on 
jurisprudence, literature, science or art, was ever prepared and published 
by Mr. Phillips. It is alike true that he never made a speech or public 



Vaux, * " [Uec. 19 

address on subjects of public interest before a popular assemblage. This 
is so singular that to omit its mention would naturally invite criticism. 

It was as remarkable that Mr. Phillips never visited any foreign coun- 
try, or, indeed, any part of his own. He remained in Philadelphia, except 
short sojourns at Saratoga, or by the seaside during the summer months, 
yet he lived to the age of three-score j'ears and twelve. 

With traits of personal character that assured him devoted friends ; 
kind, and more than considerate to the young lawyers who sought his 
advice in their first efforts ; generous, when his left hand knew not the 
outgivings of the right ; undemonstrative in his private relations ; and re- 
tiring from a participation in social exactions ; concerned for the happiness 
of those immediately connected with him by the nearest ties of kindred ; 
living vinmarried and without such domestic claims on his leisure hours ; 
the public life of Henry M. Phillips is worthy of the respect which the 
American Philosophical Society desires by this notice to record and 
perpetuate. 

Henry M. Phillips was a typical Philadelphian. 

Those influences which surround the outgrowth of capacities in the men 
of high merit of our city, do not stimulate their appreciation by our own 
people. Our most distinguished citizens in literature, science, the arts 
and affairs, gain their fame by the recognition awarded by other commu- 
nities. If perchance so fortunate, then Philadelphia, surprised at the dis- 
covery, permits its lethargic comprehension to utter tardy applause. 



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